Social Machinery

We often talk about the digital divide as a way to express the existing gap between the connected world and the ones still left behind by internet connectivity. We also talk often about the Generational Divide, or the big behavioral, communication and values difference between young digital generations and older age groups.

But there is another gap happening today in Malaysia that is related to media. I called the Marketing confidence gap: basically, the huge difference between how much time Malaysians are spending on digital media like internet or mobile and the money advertisers are spending on those channels. 

The time shift in Malaysia media consumption is not being reflected in advertising spending yet.

According to latest Nielsen reports, Malaysians spent on average 4 hours 20 minutes a day watching television. On Newspapers, the time spent daily is on average 49 minutes. 

In both cases, young generations spend considerably less time compared to older age groups.

Radio is still an important media where 90% of Malaysians spent on average 3 hours and 20 minutes every day.

When it comes to digital media, Malaysians spend on average 4 hours and 10 minutes on internet daily and roughly 60 minutes on their mobiles either making/receiving voice calls, browsing the internet or doing SMS.

Both internet and mobile are showing the biggest growth in terms of time spend over the years with Internet already taking 16.2% of day time spent by users.

The Marketing Gap

What is astonishing is the fact that advertising spending does not reflect the shift in Malaysians media consumption.

Marketing gap Malaysia

Out of the 6.5 Billion RM advertising spending last year, still 53% was done on newspaper, 35% on Television and 5% on Radio. Internet explained an insignificant 0.05% of total advertising money. 

Why this big confidence gap

There are several reasons why Malaysian brands don’t spend their advertising money more aligned with Malaysians shift in media consumption.

First, there is little understanding of the new channels capabilities from brands and media agencies side.

Secondly, the internet and mobile inventory is still too fragmented for brands to seriously incorporate it into their mainstream media mix. Services providers are not making advertiser’s life easy by exposing in a seamless and easy way their inventory, providing with standard metrics and measurement and tools to monitor marketing ROI.

Last but not least is the fact that most Chief marketing officers don’t want to take big risks in their media planning and prefer to go for traditional media that are familiar to them. As one CMO confidence to me once: “No one will question you for spending more advertising on Television, but you will run a big risk betting on digital channels as a key component of your media mix”.

Looking forward is important for players in this industry to work with brands and educate the advertising buying industry of the potential in Digital Advertising.